The Other Half

Applying for business school is a little different when you're married. Choosing schools becomes as much about fit for us and our lifestyle as it is about fit for me and my goals.

The biggest element that is probably higher on my priorities than single folks is location. I don't want my husband to have to move somewhere that he doesn't want to go. Before this whole thing started, I said "honey, where would you be willing to move?" He said Chicago, Boston, and maybe New York. We've lived in Chicago and absolutely love it, I lived in Boston for a short time and we liked it there as well. New York ... well I know hubby kinda hates to visit New York because it's so busy, but I'm sure living there would better, albeit expensive. So, that narrowed down my school choices a bit (i.e. no Duke, no Michigan, no Tuck, no California schools).

Next, the concept of a safety school was thrown out the window. If my husband is going to be working while I get my MBA, I need to be getting an education that is totally right for me and that is going to really propel me in my career. It's not worth it and not fair to take two years off and go to a school that is only a partial fit or that I applied to just so I would have somewhere to go. It's all or nothing! (Well, not nothing ... my backup plan would be to stay in my job, which is a good job, and get a part-time MBA.)

Finally, the way a school treats "partners" is very important to me. My biggest fear is for my husband to feel cast aside while I gallivant around with my new friends and my new social life. That's an exageration of course, but I want to go to a school where the culture embraces significant others and includes them in the social fabric of the school. Obviously I will not be able to spend as much time with him as I want. And since he's a businessperson himself, there will surely be things I get to do that he'd love to do himself. But it's really important to me to know I can bring him to parties and other events and know that my classmates will be inclusive. Incidentally, Kellogg is phenomenal in this regard. Partners are encouraged to attend the KWEST trip with the students, are invited to join any club (regardless of whether the student is a member), are allowed to lead clubs and events, are allowed to audit classes, and are just generally encouraged to take part in the entire experience as if it is their own. I really liked that. Wharton doesn't seem to be quite as organized, but I was assured by many married students that their SO's were very involved and were, in fact, better friends with some of their classmates than they were.

The PROFILE

If you are new to the MBA applicant pool, you will soon become accustomed to the concept of the profile. Your profile consists of your demographic and geographic information, GMAT score, undergrad GPA, and number of years of work experience. The specifics can vary, but if you visit message boards you will often see people type their profile something like this:

White Female / US / GMAT 760 / GPA 3.7 / 5 yrs WE

Incidentally, that is my profile. (Oh, and WE stands for Work Experience). People will also refer to this line of text as your "stats". Now, I will not dispute that these factors are all important in the admissions process. But as you go through this process, the first thing you will notice is there are plenty of people out there with seemingly awesome stats that still do not get into the school or schools of their choice. This is because there are 2 other very important factors that contribute to your candidacy: your execution of the application and the quality of your work and extracurricular experiences.
So here is a bit more information about me to round out my profile. My first 3 years of WE were with the strategy arm of a large consulting company. I was part of a group that focused on the procurement side of supply chain operations for our clients, which ranged across many industries. It was a great job and I loved it, but I couldn't stand the weekly travel anymore. So I left to join a pharmaceutical company and joined the world of the daily commuter.
I truly love the pharma industry, but I want to move away from the supply chain management track I'm currently on. My ideal post-MBA job would be in pharma/biotech/med device marketing.
Also, I am married with no kids, and live in a suburb of Philadelphia. My husband and I grew up in this area and would love to be located here for the foreseeable future once I graduate. Luckily, there are many pharmaceutical and biotech companies nearby!